Improvement in spring-whipfletrees



G. N. COMPTON.

Whiffltree.

No. 90,503. 4 Patented Ma)l 25, 1869.I

7L/FW' tnittd stuitte GEORGE N. COMPTON, OF CANTON, OH10 Letters Patent No. 90,503, (lated May 25, 18,69.

IMPROVEMENT IN SPRING-WHIFFLETREES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE N. CoMP'roN, of Ganton, in the county of Stark, and State of Ohio, have invented an Improved Spring-Whifiietree; and l do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of my invention, reference being had tol-the accompanying drawings, forming a part oi' this specification, and to thel letters of' reference marked thereon, of which drawings- Figure l is a plan of my improved whiffletree:

Figure 2 is an elevation of' the same;

Figure 3 is a detail plan of the same;

Figure 4 is a plan oi' one-half of centre-box;

Figure 5 is an elevation of draught-devis;

Figure 6 is a sectional view of centre-box; and

Figure 7 is a front view of tug-hook.

The nature of my invention consists, iirst, in the novel arrangement of the several parts oi' a springwhiiietree; said whiiidetree being composed of a centre bar, having a lever pivoted at each end, and a iiat steel spring secured at its centre to the centre oi' the centre-bar, in such'a manner as to bring the ends oi' said springs under the ends oi' the levers, so that said spring shall form au elastic resistant to the draught which is applied to the outer ends of said levers, whereby I obtain a very sensitive and eiiicient springwhiletree, which is easily and cheaply madeor rcpaired, and which allows a great range ot spring-motion with` a single-small and compact spring.

My invention consists, secondly, in the peculiar manner of constructing the centre-bar for a springwhiiiietree, of the construction just described, whereby I protect the spring from injury, and render the whole whiiiietree very neat and ornamental in appearance.

The centre-har of my whiiiletree is composed of thc' two parts A A, which are ofthe general form shown, and which can be made of wrought or malleable castiron, or of steel, as may be found most desirable.

These pieces lit togther, as shown in 2 and (5, and are secured to each other by the bolts or rivets F E D, arranged as shown in tigs. l and 3.

lhe levers B B are of the general form shown, and areconstructed of wood or metal, as desired, malle.- able cast-iron being a desirable material for this purpose.

These levers are pivoted between the parts A A of the centre-bar, by means ofthe bolts or pins F F,

which pass through holes in said levers, as shown in fic. 3.

bThe spring li is composed ot' two or more leaves of dat steel, which are united by rivets L L, in sucha manner as to leave an eye in the spring, through which passes the centre-bolt D, by which the spring is secured in the cel'itre-bar A A.

The ends of the spring K bear on the ends It k of the levels B B, and the pins-EE are so arranged as to act as hearings for the spring K when not under tension, as well as to serve as stops to the movement of the levers B, the ends b b ot' which strike on the pins E when the other ends of the levers B have advanced a certain distance, which distance depends on the amount of spring-play required for said levers, which is usually about three inches. e

` The clcvis C clasps the centre-bar A A, and is secured thereto by the pin or bolt D, as shown in figs. l, 2, and 5, and serves as amode of fastening the whililetrce to the load to be drawn.

The trace-hook H is of the form shown in figs. l and?, and has the arms h It made at its end to prevent the trace from coming olf the hook, except when turned into line with said arms.

The hook is pivoted to the end of the lever B lry tlie pinI l, arranged as shown, and is free to turn around said pin as an axis, so that the line of draught is always in line with the pin l, which prevents any bendingstrain at the connect-ion of hook and lever; and a further advantage heilig that'the hook can easily be turned at any desired angle with the lever B, for convenience in hitching or unhitching the trace.

The scale N is formed on the levers B B, directly under the points O O of the upperpart A ofthe centre-bar, and is so constructed, with reference to the spring K, as that each of its spaces shall indicate a certain unit of draught at the end of the levers B, thus aiibrdiug a means of ascertaining the draught of the team, as is readily seen.

From the foregoing description it is readily seen that when this whiiiletree is secured to the load by the clevis C, and the draught is applied .to the end of the levers B, the spring K serves to prevent any sudden obstruction to the movement of the load, giving a violent shock to the team, or to prevent the sudden start of the team froin breaking the draught-mechanism, or from giving a violent jerk to the wagon and occupants.

It is also evident that the same general plan of con- Y A, or a dat bar, could be used, the levers B B and spring K being secured on the surface of said bar by bolts or pins in an obvious manner, but this construcv'tion would be objectionable, both from its poor appear-t ance and the exposure ofthe moving and wearing surfaces to the action of dirt and moisture.

Where the levers B are made of wood, the. ends k k, on which the spring K bears, should have their'k parts form bo'th the centre-bar of the whitlletree andl a box which encloses the draught-spring K and inner .ends of -leverslll B B, substantially as and for the purpose specified.l 3. The scales N N, on the levers B B, when used in combination with pointers O' O on the centre-,bar A A, forlthe purposeof indicating the amount of draught applied to the, whiflietree, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

4. The stop-pins E E, when used in combination with the levers B- B and spring K, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified. r

5. The improved spring-whietree herein described, composed of the centre-bar A A, with centre-pin D, stop-pins E E, axial pins F F, points O O, and spring K, clevis O, draught-levers B B, with scales N N, and trace-hooks H H, the several parts being constructed, combined, -and arranged substantially as and forthe purpose speciied.

As evidence that- I claim the foregoing, I have hereunto Iset my hand, in the presence of two witnesses, this 18th day of March, 1869.

'Y GEORGE N. COMPTON.

yVlitnessesz A. J. VANDRAOH, Jon ABBOTT. 

